HIV continues to be one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in this world. Our discovery of a novel cellular factor that inhibits the production of HIV by infected cells provides a new target for the development of a novel class of anti-viral drugs and may additionally carry diagnostic and prognostic value. Furthermore, based on the molecular basis of the antiviral activity we hypothesize that other viruses such as Influenza will also be subject to inhibition by huSlfn11.